RAILWAY history rolled into town on Sunday, when the nation’s largest operating steam locomotive pulled in at Bathurst Railway Station.
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Hundreds of train-spotters crammed onto the platform as the Beyer-Garratt 6029, which was built in Manchester, UK and first operated by the NSW Railways in 1954 pulled into the station.
It is now preserved and operated by the NSW Rail Museum, but came to Bathurst on Sunday as part of a series of community steam rides over the long weekend.
Day trips included Lithgow to Bathurst as well as shuttle rides between Bathurst and Tarana.
Dee McGregor and Greg Simpson were among the 300 strong crowd thereto see the steam train.
For Mr Simpson, it was a chance to connect with the past.
‘It’s quite nostalgic,” he said.
For George Smith, it was also a trip down memory lane.
Both George and his son Greg drove steam trains, before being made redundant in the 1980s.
Mr Smith began his career as a cleaner, before graduating to a fireman and then became a driver.
He said he was looking forward to the trip to Tarana, saying he would probably notice a lot more things along the way then he did when he was driving the train.
